The Adventure of Adventure Life!
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| Now this crew--I cannot promise they wouldn't handle a snake if they saw one in the pasture before or after church--but it would only be for exploration and adventure purposes only- nothing spiritual! |
things. The truth is, we do none of that. Although, we do have some pigeons who have nested somewhere in the back roof--I am pretty sure they are safe! We are just regular people living life together. We make an effort to care for each other, encourage each other, and walk with each other as we struggle and fail. And in the meantime, we have some adventures!
Over the last four years my idea of "church" has really shifted and for me, it has become more real than ever. We have learned a lot, and I thought I would just briefly share what some of those have been for me:
1. Church is not in that building! There is nothing holy about where we meet! None of the property inside is holy (well, maybe the coffee pot :)--it is ok to get dirt on the floor, put a bump in the wall while playing around, and spill a drink all in the same Sunday and no one even gets mad or thinks twice about it! As a matter of fact: during the course of the four years--we have met outside, in a daycare, and in a barn. What our building is: a debt free place to gather in which we can come, be ourselves, sing, listen to teaching, and ask questions--lots of them--hard ones--not the kind that are easy to answer!
2. Doing life together is messy! Over the years, I have always been amazed when the folks on the pew next to you all of a sudden divorce and the Sunday before you thought they were the picture of marital bliss. For most of us, we have become comfortable sharing in our struggles--we laugh when we tell about little spouts with our spouse (and yes, we even make fun of ourselves), we tell on ourselves when we lose control with our children and go through the house screaming and threatening...We generally know when people are having real marriage issues, when they are struggling with addiction, battling porn, having financial problems, and a whole host of other things. And yes--it is sometimes messy--we don't know what to say, it feels awkward, it makes my stomach hurt, I say stupid stuff...there have been times I wish I just didn't know. And then I realized--that is our pretending game we have become so good at playing. You know, put the good clothes on, go to church, smile, pretend everything is good. I really think that is so far from Jesus's idea of what a true church should be. We are all broken people--we need others in our lives--and I can say I absolutely love the people that are sharing my messy life with me right now!
3. Most things regarding church culture are just "preferences" and "traditions." I get so sick of people trying to promote their church using the "cool" factor or the "traditional" approach. I guess I just erroneously believe we are all on the same team--working together (you know--the definition of the universal church), we aren't in competition with other places about having the "best" youth or children's programs, the coolest building, or the most awesome stained glass (I could add a lot to this list!) People all have preferences and what is wrong with them choosing one over the other? Why is it offensive? Oh yeah, I forgot, because churches are counting and reporting numbers...oh, and God needs that money those people bring in...excuse me--I forgot for a few minutes! Seriously, people have preferences and it is absolutely ok for them to prefer things different from the way your group or my group does them.
4. Ministry isn't about the "church" having programs and doing stuff. Ministry happens every day--when believers go about their daily business, at work, in their homes, in the community, and abroad. Johnny and I have finally come to the conclusion that equipping people to incorporate ministry as a consistent lifestyle is so much more important than their participation in a program or event at our or any church. Programs and events happen when people get passionate enough about something to make it happen--not because some leader decides we are going to start it and begins begging/guilting everybody into getting on board. Folks--whatever you want to see happen--make it happen! Go to your leaders--share what you envision and see how you can get the resources to make it happen! Don't go around whining because "they just don't...or they never...or we need to...." And prepare yourself--not everyone may be as excited about it as you! And finally, we have realized that lots want to come to participate in the "events/programs" and few want to commit consistently (week after week, when attendance isn't good, when excitement is gone) to the actual process of things happening. Ultimately--this isn't about YOU doing something! It is about Christ using you to accomplish His work. It isn't about the outward appearance or fun of a program or event--it is ultimately about the heart condition/motive behind the event or program! So quit worrying about all the outward stuff--get the inside stuff right and then see what "outward" stuff you can get involved in doing!
How cool it would have been to walk around with Jesus and really see a visual/living example. We all have ideas, preferences, and opinions (you just read one above) about Christian life/ministry/church. But to be honest, our thoughts and opinions really aren't that big of a deal! For us...it is Jesus who is the big deal--in the meantime, we are just gonna love Him and love others!
Live a Meaningful Life!
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